by Tom Weppel
* this article is web-exclusive to eujaksonville.com
Random thoughts from a cluttered mind...
This weekend in San Antonio, we will see the Final Four played. It will be the first time all
four #1 seeds have made it through their respective Regionals. UCLA will face Memphis, while
Carolina will take on Kansas.
When I watch this Tournament played out, it always drives me crazy as to why the folks
in charge of business at the NCAA don’t use their power and have the football season end the
same way college basketball does. I realize hundreds of millions of dollars are involved in each
situation. I know it would be a massive undertaking for the NCAA to make changes.
But the bottom line is that no one questions who the best team in basketball is every
year, after the Tournament is complete. Those in the football world don’t always have that luxury.
Anyway, what we will see on Saturday night is four teams that are at the top of their
respective games. They have each done what was needed to get into the Final Four. But there is
a different aspect to college basketball these days, as opposed to the way it had been for such a
long time, up until maybe ten years or so ago.
Before, we had a good idea who the college stars were. We all knew what players were
the best on what teams. Great performances were expected, and delivered, on a constant basis.
The way things are now, maybe every so often we will know a good player by name,
such as Tyler Hansbrough at UNC. He has been around for a few years, at least, and has shown
his prowess on the court. He is only a Junior, but at least he’s stayed in school a while.
That’s not the case much anymore at other schools. Not many people on the street can
name even one player on the Memphis squad, even if they are avid college basketball fans.
Some will know the freshman Kevin Love, at UCLA, only because he’s been doing some good
things in the tournament, and of course how can you remember the last name Love!
Even at Kansas, a school with a prestigious program, does not have a ‘name’ player we
all are familiar with.
In fact, these days, the only people fans can connect with their favorite programs are the
Head Coaches. Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, Roy Williams at North Carolina, and Rick Pitino at
Louisville, are the men of college basketball. The players are secondary.
Even if players have a decent season, they give serious consideration of going pro and
getting into the NBA. And I’m not saying they shouldn’t! If you can get into the NBA and sign a
million-dollar contract, then go for it!
Of course, a lot of guys these days go into the NBA with skills that aren’t even close to
being developed at all. If you think I’m wrong, ask the NBA coaches and GM’s.
Nonetheless, the Final Four is still a great spectacle, and we will see four teams go after
it, with a champion emerging on Monday night. It should be fun to see all four top seeds play
each other. Maybe when its all said and done, we’ll even remember a few guys that MIGHT come
back next year!
For a lot of traditionalists, the ‘real’ Opening Day games began this past Monday. A host
of games around the League began, all of them in American cities, with every team having a
chance to do something great and make it to the playoffs that so many have failed to get into
recently.
For a lot of teams, notable changes have been made, especially with the more popular
squads. The Yankees have a new Manager in Joe Girardi, the former Yankee Catcher who did a
great job Managing in Florida with the Marlins.
Former Yankee skipper Joe Torre then headed to the West Coast, taking the head job in
Los Angeles with the Dodgers. Torre says he is happy and relieved to be out of the Bronx, after
twelve seasons and four World Championships. And now Torre will try and bring a Championship
to Chavez Ravine, where they have not won a World Series since 1988!
That’s twenty years since the Dodgers were Champs! HOWEVER, that’s NOTHING
compared to our fans in Chicago, where the Cubs start the season having not won a World
Series title in 100 years! That’s ONE CENTURY, FOLKS!
To put that into perspective, consider that when the Cubs last won the World Series,
there were only 46 United States of America! Arizona, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Alaska were still
territories! That, my friends, is a long, long time.
So, perhaps Lou Pinella can make things happen with that squad, and the boys can get
into the playoffs, at the very least.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox start off as defending World Champs. They did not make many
changes, and with good reason, considering they have a solid group of guys ready to go. It
should be interesting to see what Boston does this year.
And so the Major League season is off and running, and now all the discussion about
steroids and HGH will take a back seat to who is doing what on the field.
Tom Weppel talks trash with Greg Larson, Lonnie Marts, Eugene Chung, Artis Gilmore,
and Ron Duguay on SportsAvengers.com 24/7.
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